If you haven’t yet noticed, there is much work being done on Knickerbocker Road. The rumor on the street is that it’s all about drainage pipe going in, sidewalks, and the like. But the real truth is there is gold in that hill. Pots and pots of it. I know because all the rainbows lately seem to touch down there. And every time I drive up that hill, I think of Irish Spring soap and Lucky Charms cereal. Why else would there be a detour that takes you to Thornell? And that traffic is impacting daily life, as we got caught in it on the way to a Pittsford Rec camp last week. Made the stop and go flow of Los Angeles traffic look like a walk in the park.

There’s going to be a hearing about the upcoming construction for the intersection of Jefferson and Clover, and reading about itmakes it sound like it will resemble a DNA helix when the DOT is done with it. It’s a busy place at times, and maybe the construction will make it better, but I have my doubts ever since they redid the intersection of Clover and Tobey, where some genius created two lanes that merge into one heading south on Clover just before Todey, and where there is an extra lane on the other side of the light that doesn’t make sense at all, where two lanes again merge into one, but aren’t fed by two lanes. If you drive, you know what I’m talking about.

The Buffalo Bills opened camp last week at St. John Fisher College, and with any luck, I’ll get the boys out there sometime this week. I’m not a rabid, pajama pant wearing die hard fan, but the camp does pose an economic value (it’s free! free to get in!), and the kids might enjoy seeing some big fellas knocking each other around. The Bills did surprisingly well last year despite what seemed like an injury or two every week, and this year they should do better.

Finally, we went to the ESL airshow at the airport (where else?) on Saturday, since the kids wanted to go, and it was, on the surface, what looked to be a good time. We used the shuttle from RIT, which was a breeze. The drivers were nice, the trip short, although I did have some nasty flashbacks while sitting in a school bus. While most of the planes were at the airshow, there was some disappointment that the MIG 17 was a no show, and the A-10, but the rest of the planes on the ground, for the most part, were accessible, and hey, once you’ve been on a Fed Ex jet, your world is never the same.

We didn’t hit the bank beforehand (my fault), but the press said there would be ATM’s handy, so I wasn’t worried. When we got on the tarmac, and started perusing the souvenir stands, however, money became an issue, and off we set to find one. After much looking around, we finally found one, although my guess is it took less time for Lewis and Clark to get to the Pacific Coast. Way way back toward the street, tucked in a little corner, was a tent with two ATM’s. Cash in hand, back we go. Food was an issue too, with what seemed a weird mix of vendors. Beale Street was there offering barbecue fare, and at other stands you could get a pizza slice, or a pita, or a garbage plate. But since the kids just wanted a hot dot dog and a soda, and nothing that simple could be found, we ended up getting fruit smoothies, frozen lemonade, and cotton candy. A balanced, nutritious meal, and about the cost of a monthly lease payment on an Escalade. The weather was fine, with a bit of intermittent rain, but the kids wanted to leave, and this was just before the Thunderbirds took off, so it was a little stressful. We saw part of their show (funny, that sounds like a southerner saying “the air show”), but were on the bus back as they were still in the air. As a comparison between the two air shows, Geneseo and Rochester, I’d say the former has a bit of an edge. You park on a field right next to it, there are more food vendors, and while you don’t get as many jets, you still get a good array of flying displays.

Anyway, the last few days of July look like some decent weather, so get out there and enjoy it. In a few days, when the calendar turns to August, people are going to be whining about the loss of summer, how the time flies, how just the other day it seemed like school was getting out.

Leave a Reply

moved to Pittsford as a teenager and attended Pittsford-Mendon High School. Her greatest passion is as a lover of and advocate for the arts and music. Donna attended Rhode Island School of Design and earned an MFA from R.I.T. She’s a free-lance art director, advertising photographer and copywriter. Her love of narrative and film has led her to direct and produce short films.

Donna developed her awareness of and concern for environmental issues after being
exposed to the chemicals in artist materials in art schools in the US and Canada which
made her ill for a time. Healthy today, she finds pleasure in nature, writing, and music.
She enjoys Pittsford for its picturesque locations, wildlife, and community involvement.

was born in Rochester, lived here for a while until his dad was transferred to Connecticut ("Thanks, Xerox."). Then a few years later they came back to Fairport ("Thanks again, Xerox."), but Bill went to Pittsford schools. He moved over to Pittsford in 1979. He worked a bunch of jobs, played in bands, went back to MCC and then U of R for a Bachelor's degree in the early 90's. Shortly after that, he moved to NYC with his wife, Laura, where he worked at Ogilvy & Mather and Christie's doing tech support. They moved out to Northern Virginia during the Internet boom, hoping to get rich quick, but missed that boat. They moved back to Pittsford in 2001, along with two boys. Bill still plays guitar with the Chinchillas, the Squeaky Chair Jazz band, and the Steve Greene Trio occasionally.

"Though all communities and areas get a certain reputation (deserved or not), there is a good quality of life here, and the bulk of the people I have met here and places I have been to reflect that," Bill says. "My reason for wanting to blog about the town is at least twofold -- to vent my views and continue with writing, but also to force myself to engage in the environment in which I live. Too many people complain there is nothing to do or see, but they never actually get out and look. I don't want to be like that."